Did you know that European Bookmakers made 15% of their full year deposits during the last Euro, a 91% increase on the average month?

It’s no surprise that major football tournaments like the Euros or Copa America offer significant potential for customer acquisition, but there are common marketing mistakes that can hinder success.

Drawing on Sportradar ad:s’ extensive analytics from previous events, here are my most common marketing pitfalls to avoid for the major tournaments ahead:

Mistake 1: Overlooking the Importance of Brand Awareness

Evidence shows that operators who invest in their brand presence have strong acquisition advantages. This includes more than 20% increased deposits and a 10% superior CPA performance on average, as shown in ad:s data from past tournaments

Recommendation: Strengthening your brand campaigns should be a priority and using awareness-focused channels like Programmatic Video, Audio and Digital-Out-Of-Home can provide you with an edge over competitors .

Mistake 2: Inadequate Budget Planning

Our insights from the last Euro show that bookmakers boosted their marketing spend by 94% to captivate audience attention during the tournament. A typical error is failing to anticipate this substantial increase in costs and underestimating the necessary spend for maintaining impactful campaigns during these crucial periods.

Recommendation: Implement forecasting and reporting tools for effective budgeting and maximizing return on marketing investment during all stages of an international football competition, so you are not surprised by surging overall costs.

Mistake 3: Generalizing Marketing Efforts

Ad:s’ analysis of deposit origins before and during major football tournaments show that 40% of deposits came from new customers, 36% from active customers and 24% from infrequent bettors. A common mistake is employing a one-size-fits-all approach for these segments.

Recommendation: Customize your targeting, creative and messaging not only to new bettors, but also existing and infrequent customers to achieve a maximum number of deposits.

Mistake 4: Ignoring Timing for Promotions

Data shows that peak times for first-time deposits during big football tournaments occur at 6 PM local time on match days. Not optimizing acquisition campaigns around these peak hours can be costly and lead to inefficiencies.

Recommendation: Use targeting that is tailored to sports schedules like ad:s’ integrated sports calendar targeting feature, so your most compelling campaigns are automatically focused on these peak periods of matchdays.

Mistake 5: Underestimating National Sentiments

We have seen significant spikes in betting activity on Euro matchdays in countries involving their national teams, with an increase of over 70% when the national team still is in the competition. Failing to craft country-specific campaigns overlooks a strong engagement driver.

Recommendation: Dynamic creative optimization tools like ad:s Dynamic Display allow you to automatically update your campaigns with localized promotions and messaging. This resonates with the national excitement of such match days, helping you to make the most out of your target market campaigns.

Mistake 6: Static Campaign Management

Another frequent oversight in campaign management is not adapting strategies based on ongoing data. During the last Euro tournament, we saw significant fluctuations in acquisition costs at various stages—specifically, the FTD CPA during game days of the knockout stage was 25% lower than during the previous 11 months, while on the day before the final FTD CPAs were 53% lower. The dynamic nature of big football tournaments demands high agility in campaign management to react to developments on and off the pitch.

Recommendation: Adapt your ad spends and campaign structure based on real-time analytics to not miss out on these dynamic market developments. At Sportradar ad:s, our expert campaign management team specializes in deploying responsive and agile campaign strategies, securing competitive advantages at all phases of a big sports event.

Conclusion

By avoiding these six pitfalls and embracing the recommended actions, your campaigns are more than just tweaked visuals and copy for the big football tournaments;  they are set to grow your sportsbook.

At Sportradar ad:s, we combine our advanced data analytics with tailored marketing solutions to help you navigate the complexities of betting marketing for large sports events, turning potential pitfalls into opportunities for unrivalled acquisition success.

Let’s make this year’s Euro Cup and Copa America not only about celebrating football but also about celebrating smart, effective marketing victories.